Return Of The Strongest Player

Her consciousness returned to her actual body. However, the way she viewed Umbral changed drastically. Instead of attempting to sympathize with him, she now loathed/feared the young boy, finding him to be evil.

The terrifying smile that she witnessed on the young boy's face seemed to have erased all positive emotions from her mind, forcing her to accept reality and face the facts. This was her true self.

'Was something controlling me?' Eleanor wondered, furrowing her eyebrows while stroking her chin.

"You're no fun," said the boy. The tears on his face sizzled before turning into steam. As all emotion was erased from his face, the boy extended his arm. Slithery shadows crept up his arm, shooting towards Eleanor at terrifying speeds.

She considered countering with her greatsword, but her subconscious mind alerted her of the shadow's dangers. Without a second thought, she immediately sheathed her weapon, using her movement technique to burst off into the distance.

For now, escaping the boy was her ultimate priority.

"Run as much as you like," the voice behind her said in a ridiculing tone, letting out demented laughter.

"The world is only so big."

*

Arthur navigated through the dense forest, finally spotting human life in the distance. As it seemed to be someone on the opposite team, Arthur quickly brandished Skofnung, preparing to unleash a barrage of strikes.

With his eyes peeled and his attention undivided, Arthur circulated mana across his body, rushing forward.

Suddenly, the young woman whom Arthur had intended to kill turned around. The crimson-eyed man stopped in his tracks, his gaze piercing that of the young woman. Confused by what he saw, Arthur approached her slowly.

"What…"

Not a single trace of life could be felt from her body as if she were but a husk of her true self. Arthur–with widened eyes–let out a few bitter chuckles. This was something akin to necromancy, but not quite.

Necromancers were usually not proficient at their own path of power. They did not see the importance of summoning the entire body of their victim and simply used their skeletal structure while absorbing the flesh and blood.

'The woman has both flesh and blood, along with all the organs necessary to live,' thought the crimson-eyed man, observing the woman while refraining from approaching her. 'But all the necessary things do not work.'

It was as if only her vitality had been consumed. Also, a separate existence seemed to be in control of her body, judging by the fact that she moved her head whenever Arthur did, continuing to lock eyes with him.

'Necromancers would strip her of everything except her bones… On the other hand, whoever made this seems incredibly proficient in the art,' thought the crimson-eyed man. 'The only necromancer in history who could retain the flesh and blood of his victim was Severin Nocturne–The Baron Of Death himself.'

'I don't think there was anyone else…'

'If this isn't necromancy, what is it? And how did someone who can wield this art enter the Second Floor? If they were an unparalleled talent, I would've remembered from my former life, or have heard news relating to this incident…'

'But I didn't.'

'This Second Floor is much more complicated than I expected… My goal of completing it within a day seems to be unachievable, considering it has almost been a day already. I don't who what this shit is.'

With a quick swing of Skofnung, Arthur decapitated the woman, watching emotionlessly as her head fell to the ground. Blood sprayed from her body, dying the ground in a massive pool of blood that seemed to be endless.

'She's still… somewhat alive?' Arthur muttered internally, narrowing his eyes. The woman, despite having been separated from her body, remained awake. Her eyes were wide open, and a deadpan expression remained on her decapitated face.

Occasionally, the head trembled.

Arthur took a few steps forward, lifting his foot before crushing the head underneath his feet. As the mixture of flesh flew in all directions, a slippery, dark, sperm-shaped object emerged from within.

Arthur extended his arm, attempting to catch it.

But before he could realize it, the slithery entity had sped off into the distance. 'So that was the origin of her sentience. The cause of her half-death. At least I know that crushing her head is equivalent to actual death.'

'Somewhat like a zombie.'

Arthur processed all the information he received with a rational perspective. 'Someone took all the hidden features, which means they have extensive information about the floor from an unknown backer.'

'I suspect a fixed match, but if they are relying on this shadow-like ability, that doesn't seem to be the case. However, I should still be alert and try to hold off until a Guardian appears, even if something bad does happen.'

'The Heaven's Spire has countless paths of power, spreading in all directions like a complex web.'

'This might simply be one of them.'

'Yeah, it's not too surprising, as there are innumerable amount of ways to gain power in the tower. It's not limited to a single one, although two are extensively researched and have been tested.'

"What are you in such deep thought about?" A certain, familiar voice resounded in Arthur's ears, jolting him awake from his train of thought. The crimson-eyed man, let out a sigh, turning to face the red-haired woman.

"What is it?" Arthur exaggerated the tone of his voice, so as to further separate his current persona from 'Arthur Solace.'

"Why don't we exchange names? Unless, of course, you've been zapped with that shadow thingy… Then, let's not," Eleanor suggested, approaching Arthur while attempting to peek through his hood. "Oh, so you're not infected. How peculiar…"

"Infected?"

"Oh, how dumb you are," said Eleanor, shaking her head in mockery. "Don't tell me you haven't run into those shadow things. The ones that look like a man's milk but black?"

"Weird way to describe them… I have run into them, yes," said the crimson-eyed man in an unnecessarily deep tone. "I just ran into one a few seconds before you came. It ran away after I bashed the head of its host."

Arthur pointed at the corpse a few meters away.

"Oh, so that's how you kill them?"